


Leave Me Hanging

by seimaisin



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: M/M, Mistletoe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-19
Updated: 2011-01-19
Packaged: 2017-10-14 21:52:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/153834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seimaisin/pseuds/seimaisin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Arthur knew what the little green plant was. It was 2 weeks before Christmas, after all.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Leave Me Hanging

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tommygirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tommygirl/gifts).



"What the hell is this?"

A rhetorical question. Arthur knew what the little green plant was. It was 2 weeks before Christmas, after all. The better question was, "Who put it there? And why is it hanging above my desk?"

Ariadne snickered. She sat cross-legged on the floor, sketching on a large piece of paper. "Don't look at me."

And really, 'who' was also a rhetorical question, wasn't it? "Eames?" he called loudly into the echoing warehouse.

"He left," Ariadne said. "He went shopping."

"I'm almost afraid."

"You probably should be."

Arthur sat down at his desk and went to work, occasionally glancing up at the small plant hanging over his head. He knew exactly how this was supposed to go. Eames was going to come back and wait for Arthur to yell, at which point he'd spend the next week making inappropriate comments about kissing and mouths and other body parts.

... well, they'd be inappropriate if the recipient of said comments wasn't interested in any of the suggestions. Actually, Arthur was. He just hadn't said anything. Why? He'd been asking himself that question lately. He hadn't come up with any good answers, other than "Eames is an ass," which was really just stating the obvious and not a decent reason not to have sex with the man. Besides, Eames wasn't an ass all the time; mostly just when he wanted to get a rise out of Arthur.

But, being interested didn't mean Arthur had to give Eames what he wanted. He had some measure of self-respect. And a good instinct as to what might make a person crack.

So, when Eames came back to the warehouse, Arthur didn't say a damned thing. They continued to work, like always. Every so often, Arthur caught Eames looking over at the mistletoe. Eames almost spoke a couple of times, but Arthur saw him close his mouth determinedly each time. It just wouldn't be as much fun, he figured, if Eames had to point it out.

Arthur successfully ignored the mistletoe for 3 days. Each day, he watched Eames get twitchier. (He also watched Ariadne struggle not to laugh at them. She had admirable restraint, as Arthur himself found himself suppressing a grin every time he saw Eames frown in the direction of his desk.) He figured Eames was close to breaking when he asked, "Are we taking any time off for the holidays, or will you prove yourself to be Scrooge, oh fearless leader?"

"Absolutely," Arthur said mildly. "We don't leave for Seoul until the 5th. On Christmas, I plan to cook dinner and find a station that plays _A Christmas Story_. Anyone is welcome to join me, by the way."

That didn't seem to be the answer Eames was expecting. Apparently, he thought Arthur was some kind of hater of joy. Or he was just annoyed that his teasing wasn't working. Which was, of course, why Arthur kept the charade up for another two days.

Finally, Arthur walked into the warehouse after lunch one day to find Eames leaning up against his desk, his arms crossed over his chest. When Arthur approached, he opened his mouth to say something. Arthur never did catch what that would have been, however, because he grabbed the lapels of Eames' shirt and covered his mouth with a quick, hard kiss.

Eames was shocked enough that he didn't respond. When Arthur stepped back, Eames stared at him with wide eyes. "What the hell ..."

Arthur pointed up. "Mistletoe."

After a moment, a smile started to spread across Eames' face, even as he tried to look put out. "You little bastard."

"Well, someone had to do it, since you went to all the trouble of putting it up there."

Arthur moved to pick up some papers on his desk, but was interrupted by Eames, who hauled him back for a thorough, insistent kiss. "I was tempted," Eames murmured when they parted, "to break into your flat and hang a sprig over your bloody bed."

"Now that would have been entertaining."

"I could still do it."

"Don't break in, I just had the locks replaced. It's annoying."

"You think I'd ruin the lock?" Eames shook his head. "I think I'm insulted."

"Well, then, why would you break in when you could use the key you just lifted from my pocket?"

Eames grinned and dangled the key in question in front of Arthur's face. "Now that, my boy, is a good question."

Eames did hang mistletoe in Arthur's bedroom - a dozen sprigs, spaced at various distances above his bed. When Arthur raised an eyebrow, Eames gave him his most innocent smile. "Covering all my bases," he explained. "I want the option of choosing exactly where I place my kisses."

Arthur was, in fact, completely in favor of that idea.


End file.
